Will Microsoft be the future of HDTV?

August 11, 2003

Microsoft is investing heavily in the WM9 format, with
bigger plans than use as a mere streaming media format for the Internet. With a Digital Media Division (DMD) staffed with PhDs they hope to make it the industry standard for HD video encoding. The team is already bypassing the sluggish progress of other industry giants in giving us a usable HD-DVD format.

In February, 2003, Microsoft approached Joe
Kane, creator of Video Essentials and the upcoming Digital Video Essentials
requesting a version of DVE in WM9. This July in Las Vegas Nevada,
Microsoft, Joe Kane and Samsung got together to show what is possible already
with a little cooperation.

In a dark room, they had the new Samsung projector connected to a Windows Media PC with DVE encoded at 720p/24 in WM9 at 9 Mbps and the JVC D-Theater VCR connected via 1394 to a Samsung SIR-165 Tuner for MPEG decoding and the 720p D-Theater DVE tape. Both systems were connected to the Samsung projector via DVI.

The results were impressive. The WM9 encoded content was clear and essentially artifact free. WM9 is definitely a winner. This is really significant because the data rate that WM9 was encoded in will work with existing red laser DVD, meaning HD-DVDs could be produced immediately.

The only thing that is required for a DVD player manufacturer like Samsung to make a DVD player that will also play WM9 based HD-DVDs, is a new chipset that will decode WM9 format HD video. Upcoming chipsets from Sigma Designs and others add WM9 HD video decoding to their existing MPEG-2 capability.

Samsung representatives at the show said that they are working on a standalone DVD player for the WM9 format that they hope to release by January 2004. This means availability of HD-DVD movies in just a few months which would be great. Don't forget Microsoft has invested in media and cable companies as well, giving them the clout to request content (HD-DVD movies) in WM9. They could also potentially turn X-Box into a home media center as a cable box and PVR that uses WM9. So, it looks like a serious contender has entered the ring with some pretty impressive credentials. You can go here for the full report.

Source: hometheaterhifi.com